Redskins Need Monday Win to Keep Pace in NFC East

WASHINGTON — By not playing on Sunday, the Washington Redskins largely improved in the NFC East standings, gaining ground on the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, while needing to keep pace with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Here’s a look at how the Sunday slate affected the Redskins going into their Monday Night Football matchup vs. the Kansas City Chiefs:

Cowboys vs. Los Angeles Rams:

Sean McVay did his old boss a favor on Sunday, beating the Cowboys in Dallas to drop their record to 2-2. The Cowboys got off to a hot start in this one, taking a 24-16 lead into halftime.

But five-straight scoring drives by the Rams in the second half helped complete the comeback, as running back Todd Gurley sliced and diced the hapless Cowboys’ defense for more than 100 yards. Final score: 30-35.

The Redskins have already defeated the Rams this season, which means that they pick up an extra tie-breaker, in addition to temporarily moving ahead of the Cowboys. The road gets no easier for Dallas, which visits Green Bay next week.

Eagles at Los Angeles Chargers:

Philly made the cross-country road trip a success, edging a Chargers’ team that was favored despite being winless on the year.

Sticking to the ground game, the Eagles throttled the Chargers with 200-plus rushing yards, scoring on six of their first eight drives. In total, Philly’s offense was on the field for nearly 40 minutes, as their offense converted 56 percent of third-down opportunities.

If there is a silver lining for the Redskins, who lost to the Eagles in Week 1, it’s that Philly’s defense remains susceptible to big plays. The Chargers did convert on 75-yard and 35-yard touchdown passes, which follows up a 77-yard touchdown from last week.

If the Redskins can find their big-play receivers, the rematch might go in their favor. Final: 26-24.

Giants at Tampa Bay:

The Giants seem to be on a collision course with one of the top picks in next year’s draft, falling to 0-4. That puts them in the company of the Cleveland Browns, Chargers and San Francisco 49ers.

The game shouldn’t have been as close as it was (Final: 23-25), but the Bucs missed two field goals and an extra point. Eli Manning had a nice statistical game, but not as good as Tampa Bay, which is trying to convince the NFL to believe, as they improve to 2-1.

They shouldn’t expect pity from Redskins fans, but Odell Beckham Jr. was literally jumping around on the sidelines in pain after dislocating his finger:

With a win, the Redskins move back into a tie with the Eagles for first place in the NFC East, although Philly owns the tiebreaker. If they lose to the Chiefs, they fall into a 2-2 tie with the Cowboys for second place.